Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-12

claimed. with a disguised expression. IN
course Mr.. Davis receives everybody VINO
comes to see him with politeness."
They come from north ana souIn son,e-
times in bodies of fifty or more; during .ne
year of the Exposition in New orleans Inc
visitors were very numerous, and one party
of $50 commissioners and various state repre-
sentatiyes made a sudden descent upon the
place. 1t taxed the resources of the estao-
lishment, but all were entertained at lunch
Indeed, no visitor is allowed to depart with
out this meal as there are no hotel accommo-
dations within five miles Of the place. One
would imagine it a severe drain upon the to
sources of a man whose fortune Is not large
this forced entertainment OF guests whose
motive for the most part is the merest curlos-
ity. But even the tramps know Beauvor as
a generous house, and their vagabond con-
fraternity has marked it as q place
where light bread, or Joe Seldom
as the negroes facetiously call 1t,
is proffered upon application instead OF the
less palatable johnny Constant" or corn
bread. This reputation is the result OF the
kindness of Mrs. Davis, g woman Of gentle
heart and cultured mind, both inherited by
her daughter Varina, an accomplished young
woman of % whose recent visit to friends in
the east attracted so much attention and
made the story of her European education
and varied accomplishments familiar. l saw
her with her father and mother at the unveil-
ing of Albert Sydney Johnston's equestrian
. statue in New Orleans a few weeks since She
~ not pretty, as her widely published pictures
show, but gentleness and good breeding are
stamped upon her face, and upon the occa-
sion referred to heard her talk in the low,
well nodulated voice of polite women, with
perfect ease and savoir faire, to host Of ia
nous men who surrounded her.
MI Davis does not rise till late in the day
10 or 1l-eating light leisurely breakfast,
and taking little exercise when at home-too
little, my informant thought. Eight years of
the climate of the Gulf coast have been very
favorable to his health, though in the two
years of his residence at Beauvoir my inform
ant had observed the growing effects of age,
most observable i'm the infrmity of his walk
He has an asthmatic affection and after his
return from the unwilling of the Confederate
monument at Montgomery, Ala, last year
was confined to his bed for quite a while to
the great apprehension of his family and
friends; but he got up suddenly one day and
expressed the determination of going to town
New Orleans, which he did, appearing much
better since then. He makes frequent trips
to New Orleans, always stopping at the house
of his cotton factor and life time friend, Mr.
Payne, and still personally visits his cotton
Plantations. He receives q very heavy mail
and maintains great interest in public affairs
My informant again declared his indigna-
ton at the spectacle he has often witnessed
OF Mr. Davis at the precinct polling place ex-
ercising predominant influence over local
politics.
reference was made to the fact that The
New York World was sent to Beauvoir daily
by its editor, for whose child Miss Davis stood
as godmother while in New York, having
formed a pleasant friendship with Mrs Pu-
liter.
After lunch, which my host by proxy
kindly rendered me in accordance with the
custom of the place, and a stroll through
the grounds, found my way back to the sta
ton. had to wait two hours and half for
a train back to New Orleans, and was lett in
solitary possession Of the lonely place. the
solitude being rendered all the more impress
sive by the weird sough of the wind through
the pines, while the thin faced, gray mus
tached post and station master disappeared in
The woods toward his dinner house NY re-
Elections were INTERRUPTED by the sudden ap-
pearance of a bare legged negro girl OF 6
years, calling sharply for "Mr jake the
postmaster. She stared upon seeing me, with
wide black eyes, of remarkable brightness and
intelligence, but without timidity, and quickly
began to question me with the frank and
eager curiosity of childhood, one of her rapid
questions being as to whether scroll npon a
colored railway poster on the station wall
represented ground rattler," a species of
rattlesnake of the coast. l turned the tables
by asking her if she knew Mr.. Davis, and
what she thought of him.
IL think he is a good man, :" she said simply,
with tentative emphasis upon the adjective,
which suggested a cautionary attitude toward
Mr., Davis, and following curious inquiry
as to how found out where he lived. indi-
eating in words and manner a childish i'm
preston of awe and mystery connected with
Beauvoir and its inmates